Vietnamese startup’s fish sauce hits US shelves

Lang Chai Xua (Old Fishing Village) fish sauce, produced by Seagull Co. Ltd. in the coastal province of Binh Thuan has been sold on U.S. stores for the last two weeks.

A 500 ml bottle costs US$6.49-13.59.

Seagull also exports vegetarian fishing sauce to the U.S. amid high competition from producers in other places such as Thailand and Hong Kong.

Old Fishing Village was created by Tran Ngoc Dung, a businessman who sold his assets in HCMC and returned to his hometown of Phan Thiet to start Seagull, a company that he says produces fish sauce using a 300-year-old recipe.

Dung invested VND100 billion ($4 million) in the company, which now produces one million liters of sauce annually. It hopes to double production soon.

Other markets that Seagull eyes for exports by next year include Europe, Australia and Japan.

Vietnam exports $23-28 million worth of fish sauces globally every year, mostly to Asia and Europe.

To reach more markets, it needs to meet high international quality standards and prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, Dinh Xuan Lap, deputy director of the Vietnam Fisheries Society, said.